Two years ago, Bruce Bonney was refereeing one of the hundreds of games played in Norwich’s annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament. As is typical of any competitive situation, emotions were high, and a verbal conflict between opposing fans escalated. The confrontation was at the point where Bonney needed to intervene. “It was late in the day on Sunday, and couple of fathers went nose to nose,” Bonney said recollecting the encounter. “I got in the middle of them, and I followed some of the ideas I outlined for the Gus Buster training program.”

More on Bonney’s outline in a moment.

Bonney was perhaps as well equipped to handle a crisis situation on the basketball court as anyone. He graduated cum laude from Colgate University, and earned his M.A. in History from Syracuse University. He worked as a teacher and coach at Morrisville-Eaton from 1970-1993 before moving on to the second phase of his educational career working as an education consultant. In a nutshell, Bonney is a teacher who instructs teachers.

So what did Bonney do when two parents were on the verge of coming to blows? “Your job as a Gus Buster is to be the one thinking adult on the court,” Bonney said. “No one else is thinking. Everyone else is responding or emoting. You need to establish your position on the court as fair and impartial, and a consistent authority on the court.”